Universal Pictures and Peacock have partnered with Blumhouse and Morgan Creek in a $400 million deal for rights to a slate of new Exorcist films.
The trilogy will be directed by David Gordon (Halloween) and will star Ellen Burstyn, along with Leslie Odom Jr. who will play the father of a possessed child looking for help from Burstyn’s character, the mother of a possessed child in the original Exorcist from 1973.
“There’s no better time to be joining forces with the team at Peacock, reuniting with the great team at Universal and finally getting to work with my friends at Blumhouse, than on this classic franchise,” Morgan Creek president David Robinson said in a statement Monday. “David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Scott Teems and Peter Sattler have put together a compelling continuation of this iconic tale and I can’t wait to bring this to fans around the world.”
The first film of the trilogy is set to premiere in theaters on October 13, 2023, with subsequent films potentially premiering on Peacock.
“Blumhouse has always experienced incredible partnership from the team at Universal, and I’m grateful to Donna Langley and Jimmy Horowitz for believing in the vision of David’s film and having the foresight to be flexible with distribution, so the team feels top notch support through the lifeline of the film. They’re committed to theatrical exhibition and will also serving streaming viewers well by bringing an exciting franchise like The Exorcist to Peacock too,” Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum said. “I’m grateful to be working with David Robinson and the great team at Morgan Creek on this iconic franchise.”